Currently they are having jury selection for Trump's hush money trial. 7 jurors were selected and I passed a TV showing one was removed. They need 6 more and 6 alternates.
I haven't been selected for jury duty in more than 40 years and yesterday I was thinking "What are the possibilities to get into the selection pool?"
That would be awesome to fly to New York City today and first thing tomorrow morning catch someone who looks like me... offer him cash to borrow his identification and get into the room for jury selection.
That's less than 5% probability to get that far... Okay, less than 3%
This is about a former first lady. Her name was mentioned in a current blog and why she's still in a marriage with Donald. I can think of a few reasons and from tabloid comments I read, there's a mountain of gossip about the woman. What's true and what's false may be difficult to prove either way.
She was a fashion model, did some risky nudes and few F-F photos. Photos on the internet. Undisputed.
Mentioned in a few places, she was an escort. Mentioned in other places, she was a callgirl. T/F not confirmed.
She met Donald at a party where he was to meet someone else and focused on her. At the time, he was married to Marla Maples. Undisputed.
It's believed she's had plastic surgery. T/F not confirmed.
Several times I read comments her visa was in jeopardy and her marriage to Donald fixed that including her citizenship. I also read he arranged her parents travel to the United States and 'fast-tracked' their citizenship. T/F not confirmed.
So... what's in it for her?
Lavish lifestyle, gave him a handsome son. True.
There's talk about a prenup agreement and recent renegotiation. Ohh.. tough one.
Has that been confirmed?
Either way... what ever happens to their marriage, she walks away standing tall as it's my opinion, she is doing a great job to ride the tide in something she didn't expect to be so connected in.
I wore construction boots when I was a project manager, as a good part of my day was on jobsites. It's a requirement by OSHA to wear thick sole, steel toe shoes when in a construction environment.
Job change and the boots were put aside.
Yesterday, I had an appointment to measure a new project that is in the 'framing stage' where all the partitions are going up, prior to electrical and plumbing. Lots of sheet metal, pipes, air conditioning grills on the floor as tradesmen went about their business.
This is the right time to spot errors in layout and make corrections to the shop drawings that the factory builds from. We need all the time to fabricate so the product is ready when the contractor is requesting delivery.
The screws used to hold the metal studs have sharp points needed to pierce sheet metal and the framing crew don't pick up any that fall to the floor. I was on the job for a few hours and had to pull screws from the bottom of my boots a few times.
That was the easy part as I had the boots on for 5 hours and couldn't wait to get home to remove them. They were killing my feet yesterday afternoon and I felt pain this morning when I got up!
I'm back in soft shoes today and getting into my normal routine... maybe with some aspirin for breakfast.
OJ Simpson died from cancer this week. All the haters got another chance to bring up how they believed he murdered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The pair were stabbed to death outside Brown's condominium the night of June 12, 1994.
Prosecutors thought the gloves found on the scene were among the strongest evidence because DNA tests showed blood on them. In the courtroom, Simpson struggled to get the gloves and his defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, proclaimed “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” Simpson was ultimately found not guilty.
If O.J. didn't kill Nicole and Ronald... who did??
All the emphasis was targeting O.J. and no one else. It was him or... nothing.
30 years later... was something missed?
I recall reading his son was jealous of Nicole's relationship. He worked in a restaurant as a chef and had access to an assortment of knives. There was a gate to the residence that had to be scaled and O.J. Simpson with many football injuries wasn't capable of getting over the fence, but his young son... probably could.
Sure O.J. acted like a fool trying to evade the police and all the other drama that ensued. Factually, O.J. may not have done it, but it's my opinion, he sure knew who did.
While there was no news of him being in hospice, his death (of prostate cancer) at age 76 came as a surprise. For those who were hoping at some point, he would reveal a fact (before he died) that didn't turn up in the courtroom. A confession didn't happen.
Trump's media company is scheduled to go public today. Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social is said to be worth billions. Last Friday, Shareholders in the shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) agreed Friday to merge into Trump Media. The new combined company will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the stock symbol DJT.
Can you make a million over night?
The key word here is volatile.
Link:
Depending on who you listen to, Trump says it's election interference by Biden and the Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Okay... some will believe that story and form that opinion.
Another opinion is paying off a porn star to hush an affair (while married) so as not to adversely affect his status in an election, making it (reverse) election interference.
Since the money was misuse of campaign funds that sent Michael Cohen, his personal attorney to prison, his CFO Allen Weisselberg to jail, it would seem logical for Trump who okayed the transaction to be found guilty as well.
As a side issue: Pending with the Supreme court is a decision of immunity that Trump claims he has. This happened prior to him becoming president. Kinda of a stretch on the Constitution and law.
Anyway, today starts jury selection for the court case for the hush money trial... TAX DAY in America.
Befitting for a man who claims not having to pay taxes and knowing more than the IRS when it comes to tax loopholes.
The Hush Money Trial...
Maybe you're familiar with the site gofundme where people can donate money for a specific cause. For example, someone involved in a hit-and-run accident and needs money to pay for medical expenses. They, or someone opens a 'go fund me' account to collect money to offset the medical expenses. They list a specific goal amount of money needed.
Mentioned in another blog, Elena Cardone, wife of real estate millionaire Grant Cardone, opened a gofundme account with the goal of $355,000,000. needed to offset the recent court judgement for crooked Donald's corporation.
Elena is reaching out for donations.
I first heard about it and the fund had raised $265,066. where one guy donated $5,000.
Checking today, the total raised is $932,711. The highest donation listed is Anonymous at the amount of $10,000. There are a few $5,000 and lots of $1,000. and that seems to majority of large donations.
I scanned the list to see people donating in $5 increments. How they got to $11 could mean someone only gave him a buck!
If you feel strongly about this go to the
fund yourself and pledge some money...
CS has a new member... actress Courtney Tailor, who appeared in the 2016 movie Everybody Wants Some. Her real name is Courtney Taylor Clenney, born in Midland, Texas in 1996. She will turn 28 later this month. Not only is Courtney an actress, she's also a social media influencer. I'm impressed.
I'm not so much impressed that an actress would join CS, it's that 2 years ago, Courtney was arrested in Hawaii and charged with the murder for stabbing her boyfriend in South Florida.
Sniff, sniff... I can smell a rat.
I haven't heard that word used in a while. News today: Investor in company that took Trump Media public pleads guilty to insider trading. Who would have thought that everything would have been on the 'up & up' yeah?
Gerald Shvartsman pleaded guilty at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman.
"TMTG shares were trading at around $51.60 on Wednesday morning, making Trump's stake worth about $4 billion, though he is not allowed to sell or borrow against it for six months.
Trump Media is also
embroiled in legal battles in Delaware and Florida with co-founders Wesley Moss and Andrew Litinsky, who have accused the company of trying to improperly dilute their stake."
Just another day in Trump world.
Link:
The linked story: Trump's Truth Social lost $58 million in 2023, and the stock is taking a hit
And people want this guy to run the country???
With all the phones, tablets, laptops and computers I go through, I should be used to upgrades/changes by now. Last week, I took delivery on the Samsung S24 Ultra with 1 terabyte of memory. It's their flagship model that boasts a 200 megapixel camera.
Using Samsung Smart Switch app, I backed up the old phone to my computer.
The new phone came with a double end USB-C connector for direct transfer phone to phone which s faster than using Wi-Fi. Smart Switch is resident on both phones but it took a few tries to connect.
Nearly everything transferred and all the the apps and screen settings are identical. Passwords didn't sync and I had to setup Google, Gmail, Samsung, WhatsApp and Signal again. I lost my most cherished app called Gesture Search. Someone else is making a version of Gesture Search that is no better than a first year computer programming homework assignment. Hopefully, they will listen to the user comments and make an update worthy of calling it Gesture Search.
I'm estimating nearly 2 days lost for research to set the phone up where it actually functions to my liking. A handful of calls to T-Mobile support and so many calls to Samsung customer care and technical support I lost track. I had a 'needed to fix' list or the phone goes back to Samsung and I get a refund.
Some features are no longer supported so I have to do a 'work around' to get what I want.
Notifications both visual and sound are nearly there. I would have preferred to see a flashing indicator or flag to let me know there are unread messages or emails.
The phone will give a reminder beep after 3 minutes and briefly vibrate when I pick up the phone. Always on display is the cure, but that eats into battery time.
Most of my text messages are converted using the microphone... Well, they were on my old phone, but the icon wasn't on the top row of the keyboard as expected. A call to Samsung and I was told the microphone is no longer supported. WTF? microphone not supported.
They had me download and install Gboard which is Google's keyboard app. It worked fine and quick, but the top row with numbers (found on the default Samsung keyboard) required a function key and extra keystrokes to achieve the same results... just like my BlackBerry phone 20 years ago!
Not accepting the Samsung Tech Support solution, I reverted back the the Samsung keyboard. An internet search revealed, you can toggle the microphone on and off via a separate menu. It now appears on the lower corner and not along the top row of commands like the previous 4 cellphones did.
Now for the camera that cannot default to low resolution images. I guess Samsung thinks it's beneath the S24 Ultra and forces them to only shoot high-res images.
Images were distorted and out of proportion. I reset the phone settings to default, rebooted the phone and most of the camera aspect issues went away. Photos sent by text messages are large, but the file size is manageable. Probably 2.5 times larger than my old phone.
The phone has a serious problem with images appearing like a fisheye lens. Vertical lines appeared curved, especially noticeable when looking at buildings or geometric objects having straight lines. I downloaded Samsung's Camera Assistant that has a setting to cure that. I'll test it tomorrow when I'm out on appointments.
While my experience and product review with this phone has been mostly negative, the speed of functions and menus is amazingly fast. It does automatic translation when texting. A very powerful feature.
I'm holding the screen resolution at it's lowest setting of HD+ 1560 x 720. maybe later I'll experiment with the QHD+ 3120 x 1440.
All the drawbacks to using anything more than the basic settings is reduced battery time. I'll have to test it with lots of use, calls, photos, GPS and see if I need to activate battery saver.
(note to self: phone doesn't come close to rated battery life)
Cellphone hell...
Terriers, Shepherds, Dalmatians, Chow Chow, mutts... whatever. I never owned a dog that needed haircuts. My mother did. One of her friends had a shit-zoo and connected her with a lady who bred and sold pedigree 'little white dogs' that needed to be groomed at places that charge lots of money. The dog came back with a bow in her hair. Pampering was required. The dog had no desire to fetch a ball, run or do things that normal dogs do. She would just sit in the chair next to my mother and watch TV.
I'm living in a community where the sign on the main gate states NO PET COMMUNITY and security will turn you away if you have a dog in your car. Well, that didn't work. Probably 10% of the residents here have a dog. Some... have 2.
If you get a doctor's note, you can keep a comfort animal that is on file with the condo association.
While walking this morning I passed a resident who was out with his Schnauzer. Leash in one hand and pooper scooper bag in the owner. Fido wasn't well groomed. I guess the owner wasn't concerned about keeping status with his dog.
Years ago, a friend owned a sheepdog who enjoyed jumping in the pool. When he got out and shaked off, water went everywhere. They had his fur/hair trimmed short to solve the problem. That breed is actually skinny under all that mess!
23 year old conjoined sisters Carmen & Lupita have been in the news recently. Always asked lots of (stupid) questions, they did some social media videos. Two heads, separate brains sharing one body. Carmen has a boyfriend, Lupita doesn't date.
This brings up 34 year old former reality stars Abby Hensel and Brittany also conjoined twins. Abby married Josh.
I haven't seen anything mentioned about polygamy... after all is it really 2 women?
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